Hassan Dehghanpour, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Petroleum Engineering

About

Education

• PhD, Petroleum Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. 2011.
• MS, Petroleum Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB. 2008.
• BSc, Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 2006.
• BSc, Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 2006.

Research

Research Group Website

I study fluid flow in porous media by using experimental and mathematical techniques for applications in hydraulic fracturing and enhanced oil recovery. My current research areas include:

Understanding Rock-Fluid Interactions

Wettability evaluation

• Measurement of rock wettability and its correlation with other petrophysical properties
• Characterization of rock pore structure using SEM and AFM analyses

Gas flooding

• Visualization of rock- gas -oil interactions at reservoir conditions
• Laboratory simulation of gas flooding and huff ‘n’ puff processes for improving oil recovery from tight oil reservoirs
• Evaluation of gas-oil interactions at the bulk phase conditions using PVT analysis

Surfactant flooding

• Characterizing bulk-phase behaviour of surfactant solutions with oil
• Effect of fracturing fluid formulation on oil recovery from unconventional reservoirs
• Laboratory evaluation of surfactant flooding in low-permeability reservoirs

Complementary Flowback and Post-flowback Production Data Analysis for Uncertainty Reduction in Fracture Characterization

• Analysis of extensive flowback data from multi-fractured horizontal wells
• Development of models and procedures for analyzing water/oil/gas flow rates and pressure measured during flowback operations
• Analysis of flowback rate and pressure data to forecast post-flowback production
• Investigation of the effects of natural/secondary fractures on flowback and post-flowback production

Fracture Characterization by Analyzing Produced Flowback Salts

• Chemical analysis of the water produced during flowback operations
• Development of a comprehensive workflow to characterize the fracture network from the salt concentration profiles
• Investigating the reasons behind poor water recovery after fracturing operations and the possibility of recycling/reuse of flowback water

Development of Rate-Transient Models for Production Data Analysis

• Modelling fluid flow through matrix, secondary fractures, and primary hydraulic fractures
• Extension of the conventional dual porosity models to triple porosity models to account for secondary fractures communicating with the induced hydraulic fractures
• Uncertainty reduction in parameter estimates by developing specialized plots for flow regime analysis

Selected Publications

A. Rock-Fluid Interactions

   I. Wettability Evaluation

• Yassin M. R., Begum M., Dehghanpour H. Organic Shale wettability and its relationship to other petrophysical properties: A Duvernay case study. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2017, 169: 74-91.
• Javaheri A., Dehghanpour H., Wood J. M. Tight rock wettability and its relationship to other petrophysical properties: A Montney case study. Journal of Earth Science, 2017, 28(2): 381-390.
• Habibi, A., Dehghanpour, H., Binazadeh, M., Bryan, D., & Uswak, G. Advances in understanding wettability of tight oil formations: A montney case study. SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, 2016, 19(4), 583-603.
• Yassin, M. R., Dehghanpour, H., Wood, J., & Lan, Q. A theory for relative permeability of unconventional rocks with dual-wettability pore network. SPE Journal, 2016, 21(6), 1970-1980.
• Lan Q., Xu M., Binazadeh M., Dehghanpour, H., Wood, J. M. A comparative investigation of shale wettability: The significance of pore connectivity. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2015, 27: 1174-1188.
• Lan, Q., Dehghanpour, H., Wood, J., & Sanei, H. Wettability of the Montney tight gas formation. SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, 2015, 18(3), 417-431.
• Xu M., Dehghanpour H. Advances in understanding wettability of gas shales. Energy & Fuels, 2014, 28(7): 4362-4375.

  II. Aqueous fracturing fluids/oil/ rock interactions

• Yang S., Dehghanpour H., Binazadeh M., Dong, P. A molecular dynamics explanation for fast imbibition of oil in organic tight rocks. Fuel, 2017, 190: 409-419.
• Zolfaghari A., Dehghanpour H., Holyk J. Water sorption behaviour of gas shales: I. Role of clays. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2017, 179: 130-138.
• Zolfaghari A., Dehghanpour H., Xu M. Water sorption behaviour of gas shales: II. Pore size distribution. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2017, 179:187-195
• Ghanbari E., Dehghanpour H. The fate of fracturing water: A field and simulation study. Fuel, 2016, 163: 282-294.
• Binazadeh, M., Xu, M., Zolfaghari, A., & Dehghanpour, H. Effect of electrostatic interactions on water uptake of gas shales: The interplay of solution ionic strength and electrostatic double layer. Energy and Fuels, 2016, 30(2), 992-1001.
• Ghanbari E., Dehghanpour H. Impact of rock fabric on water imbibition and salt diffusion in gas shales. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2015, 138: 55-67.
• Lan Q., Ghanbari E., Dehghanpour H, Hawkes, R. Water loss versus soaking time: spontaneous imbibition in tight rocks. Energy Technology, 2014, 2(12): 1033-1039.
• Makhanov, K., Habibi, A., Dehghanpour, H., Kuru, E. Liquid uptake of gas shales: A workflow to estimate water loss during shut-in periods after fracturing operations. Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources, 2014, 7: 22-32.
• Dehghanpour, H., Lan, Q., Saeed, Y., Fei, H., Qi, Z. Spontaneous imbibition of brine and oil in gas shales: effect of water adsorption and resulting microfractures. Energy & Fuels, 2013, 27(6): 3039-3049.
• Dehghanpour, H., Zubair, H. A., Chhabra, A., Ullah, A. Liquid intake of organic shales. Energy & Fuels, 2012, 26(9): 5750-5758.

  III. Gas/oil/ rock interactions

• Habibi A, Yassin M R, Dehghanpour H, Bryan, D. Experimental investigation of CO 2-oil interactions in tight rocks: A Montney case study. Fuel, 2017, 203: 853-867.
• Parmar J, Dehghanpour H, Kuru E. Displacement of water by gas in propped fractures: Combined effects of gravity, surface tension, and wettability. Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources, 2014, 5: 10-21.

B. Complementary Flowback and Post-flowback Production Data Analysis

• Xu, Y., Dehghanpour, H., Ezulike, O., & Virues, C. Effectiveness and time variation of induced fracture volume: Lessons from water flowback analysis. Fuel, 2017, 210, 844-858. (In Press).
• Fu Y., Dehghanpour H., Ezulike D. O., Jones Jr R. S. Estimating Effective Fracture Pore Volume From Flowback Data and Evaluating Its Relationship to Design Parameters of Multistage-Fracture Completion. SPE Production & Operations, 2017 (Preprint).
• Ezulike, D. O., Dehghanpour, H., Virues, C. J., Hawkes, R. V., & Jones, R. S. Flowback fracture closure: A key factor for estimating effective pore volume. SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, 2016, 19(4), 567-582.
• Xu Y., Adefidipe O., Dehghanpour H. A flowing material balance equation for two-phase flowback analysis. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2016, 142: 170-185.
• Ezulike O. D., Dehghanpour H. A complementary approach for uncertainty reduction in post-flowback production data analysis. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2015, 27:1074-1091.
• Xu Y., Adefidipe O. A., Dehghanpour H. Estimating fracture volume using flowback data from the Horn River Basin: A material balance approach. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2015, 25: 253-270.
• Ezulike O D, Dehghanpour H. Modelling flowback as a transient two-phase depletion process. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2014, 19: 258-278.
• Abbasi, M. A., Ezulike, D. O., Dehghanpour, H., Hawkes, R. V. A comparative study of flowback rate and pressure transient behavior in multifractured horizontal wells completed in tight gas and oil reservoirs. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2014, 17: 82-93.

C. Fracture Characterization by Analyzing Produced Flowback Salts

• Zolfaghari, A., Dehghanpour, H., Noel, M., & Bearinger, D. Laboratory and field analysis of flowback water from gas shales. Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources, 2016, 14, 113-127.
• Zolfaghari, A., Dehghanpour, H., Ghanbari, E., & Bearinger, D. Fracture characterization using flowback salt-concentration transient. SPE Journal, 2016, 21(1), 233-244.

D. Development of Rate Transient Models for Production Data Analysis

• Yue, M., Leung, J. Y., & Dehghanpour, H. Numerical investigation of limitations and assumptions of analytical transient flow models in tight oil reservoirs. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2016, 30, 471-486.
• Ezulike O. D., Dehghanpour H. Capturing the effects of secondary fractures on production data using flow regime equations and specialised plots: An uncertainty analysis approach. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2016, 138: 201-217.
• Ezulike, O. D., Dehghanpour, H. Implications of Characterizing Tight Oil Reservoirs with Dual-and Triple-Porosity Models. Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 2016, 138(3), 032801.
• Ezulike O. D., Ghanbari E., Siddiqui S., Dehghanpour, H. Pseudo-steady state analysis in fractured tight oil reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2015, 129: 40-47.
• Ezulike D O, Dehghanpour H. A model for simultaneous matrix depletion into natural and hydraulic fracture networks. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2014, 16: 57-69.
• Ali A J, Siddiqui S, Dehghanpour H. Analyzing the production data of fractured horizontal wells by a linear triple porosity model: Development of analysis equations. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2013, 112: 117-128.

E. Three-Phase Flow in Porous Media

• Murtaza M, He Z, Dehghanpour H. An approach to model three‐phase flow coupling during steam chamber rise. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2014, 92(6): 1100-1112.
• Mojarad, M., & Dehghanpour, H. Analytical modeling of emulsion flow at the edge of a steam chamber during a steam-assisted-gravity-drainage process. SPE Journal, 2016, 21(2), 353-363.
• Dehghanpour H, DiCarlo D A. Drainage of capillary-trapped oil by an immiscible gas: Impact of transient and steady-state water displacement on three-phase oil permeability. Transport in porous media, 2013, 100(2): 297-319.
• Dehghanpour H., DiCarlo D. A. A comparative study of transient and steady-state three-phase oil permeability. Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, 2012, 18(01): 54-63.
• Dehghanpour, H., Aminzadeh, B., Mirzaei, M., DiCarlo, D. A. Flow coupling during three-phase gravity drainage. Physical Review E, 2011, 83(6): 065302.
• Dehghanpour H, Aminzadeh B, DiCarlo D A. Hydraulic conductance and viscous coupling of three-phase layers in angular capillaries. Physical Review E, 2011, 83(6): 066320.

PET E 365 - Well Logging and Formation Evaluation

Theory and engineering applications of measurements of physical properties of the formation near the well bore; interpretation and use of the information in reservoir engineering. Prerequisite: PET E 275.

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